The sun rose from the east, and sunlight flooded the entire compound. Within a certain isolated compound at Martial Hall Palace, a thinly dressed youth was seated in meditation as he welcomed the first rays of purple yang. There, one could only see continuous strands of fine purple yang qi being absorbed by his body, giving him a very majestic and regal bearing.
Just a wisp of purple qi was enough to push this young man’s initial cultivation of the peak of the sixth-stage Basic Realm to perfection, making it seem like he was about to break through to the seventh stage.
However, under the control of this youth’s nine natal stars, this energy did not continue to surge, leaving him at the sixth stage temporarily. Who else could this youth, who was able to absorb purple yang energy at the Basic Realm, be if not Xiang Shaoyun?
These slivers of purple energy would remain for only an instant; only at the very beginning of sunrise would one be able to absorb it. After Xiang Shaoyun finished absorbing the various strands of purple energy, he stretched and stood up. He was not tired even though he had missed a whole night’s worth of sleep; rather, he was surprisingly full of energy.
“Looks like I’ll be working hard from now on,” Xiang Shaoyun muttered as he stood up, stretching his waist.
After briefly washing up, Xiang Shaoyun headed for the outer court. The outer court trained physical prowess. One had to get there on time every single day and complete a fixed amount of training.
If Xiang Shaoyun wanted to grow stronger, training his physical strength and establishing his foundations well were essential. By the time Xiang Shaoyun reached the outer court, numerous outer court disciples were already there.
Just then, Xiang Shaoyun realized that they were giving him strange looks and were avoiding him like the plague, not wanting to stand close to him at all. In his heart, Xiang Shaoyun knew what had happened but did not seem to mind.
“Boss, oh boss, why aren’t you going to find Elder Zi already?! You’re going to meet with huge trouble soon!” A voice spoke from behind Xiang Shaoyun.
Turning his head to take a look, Xiang Shaoyun found that it was indeed Xia Liuhui, whom he had previously interacted with.
“What’s so urgent that I need to find senior brother?” Xiang Shaoyun asked.
“You’ve not only offended Wu Mingliang, you had also beaten up his men! Is this not enough for you?” Xia Liuhui replied in exasperation.
“You’re blowing up a small matter. What’s there to be afraid of?” Xiang Shaoyun asked, completely unfettered. Wu Mingliang was merely the first of his stepping stones in life, completely unworthy of becoming his rival.
At this moment, mad laughter began sounding from nearby as a voice could be heard, “Ha ha, what big words you have there! It seems that my reputation as one of the top 10 in the outer court cannot be compared to this genius who couldn’t even get a meal yesterday!”
When Xiang Shaoyun and Xia Liuhui turned their heads to look at the speaker, they saw Wu Mingliang walking towards them, accompanied by a few others.
“Damn it, Wu Mingliang actually saw me together with you! I’m doomed this time!” Xia Liuhui said, slowly backing away.
“What are you afraid of? This young master will take care of you from now on,” Xiang Shaoyun confidently answered.
“You’d better take care of yourself first,” Xia Liuhui replied, completely devoid of any sense of loyalty, before slipping away.
“Xiang Shaoyun, you have balls! You actually dare to beat up Gou Zi and the others! I must settle this debt with you!” Wu Mingliang arrogantly shouted in Xiang Shaoyun’s face.
“Hmph. If you have the capability to do so then come at me! This young master isn’t afraid of you!” Xiang Shaoyun replied in a similarly confident fashion. He was no longer the random Tom, Dick, or Harry from yesterday. He had tapped into his boundless potential and was equipped with battle techniques. Even if it was somebody at a higher cultivation level than him like Wu Mingliang, Xiang Shaoyun wouldn’t back down from a fight.
Who was afraid of losing? He definitely would not back down!
“You have some capability! However, you’ve broken our Martial Hall Palace’s rules, so you must first be punished according to them!” Wu Mingliang coldly laughed.
At this moment, the martial officer in charge of overseeing the outer court disciples walked by.
“Who is Xiang Shaoyun?” the martial officer shouted.
Not daring to be tardy, Xiang Shaoyun immediately loudly replied, “Xiang Shaoyun is here!”
“Do you know your mistakes?” the martial officer asked yet again.
“I don’t,” Xiang Shaoyun immediately replied.
Coldly clicking his tongue, the martial officer said, “Hmph, it seems like you’re an ignorant person! Did you cruelly beat up a group of people without rhyme or reason?”
“Officer Ling Chen, this is definitely the case! Gou Zi and the rest are still lying unconscious. Who knows when they’ll be able to cultivate again!” Wu Mingliang aptly replied.
“Xiang Shaoyun! What else do you have to say for yourself?!” Officer Ling Chen furiously asked.
“It was them who asked me to hit them. Should I not have fulfilled this minor wish of theirs?” Xiang Shaoyun matter-of-factly asked.
“It seems that you are utterly unrepentant! You have broken the rules of Martial Hall Palace and will now be punished. Go to the Hall of Limits and stay in the first room for an hour! This is your punishment for being unrepentant,” Ling Chen bellowed.
“Understood.” Xiang Shaoyun’s eyes lit up momentarily; he never thought that this would be his punishment. At this moment, he noticed Officer Ling Chen subtly wink at him, a far cry from his stern posture earlier.
He was deliberately siding with Xiang Shaoyun! This Officer Ling Chen was the same officer who had brought Xiang Shaoyun to the Hall of Limits the previous day. He was perfectly aware of how Xiang Shaoyun came out perfectly unscathed after remaining there for a whole hour. If this wasn’t deliberately siding with Xiang Shaoyun, what would be?
However, when this punishment fell on the ears of the rest of the outer court disciples, their faces began to pale. The first room had a gravitational force of 500 kilograms! Even a sixth- or seventh-stage Basic Realm practitioner would find it hard to stay in there for half an hour, much less a full hour!
“Th-this punishment is too heavy, isn’t it? Does he want to kill him?”
“Isn’t that obviously the case? Even if somebody at the seventh stage were to enter, the longest they could stay would be one hour! As per my knowledge, the only one able to stay in there for a full hour at the Basic Realm was senior sister Gong Qinyin! However, she was seventh-stage Basic Realm at the time, but Xiang Shaoyun is merely at the third stage! I hope he doesn’t die the moment he steps in!”
“Could it be that Officer Ling Chen is in cahoots with Wu Mingliang? Do they not have any regard at all for the Purple Lightning Marquis?”
“It really is a pity; a genius who can trigger five stars illuminating the sky is gone just like that!”
Even Wu Mingliang himself did not think that the officer would be so strict! Stifling his urge to laugh, he faced Ling Chen and said, “The revered officer truly is discerning!” He then turned to Xiang Shaoyun, and laughing loudly, said, “Ha haa! I hope you enjoy this little punishment of yours!”
In his eyes, Xiang Shaoyun was already a dead man walking.
“Good, very good! Wu Mingliang, I challenge you!” Xiang Shaoyun acted as though he was furious.
Still laughing, Wu Mingliang sarcastically replied, “Do you even have the chance to challenge me anymore?”
“If I don’t die today, you and I will fight seven days later in the arena!” Xiang Shaoyun replied, as if he were a hero going to die in battle.
“Ha ha, good! I accept your challenge! As long as you can survive the Hall of Limits, you and I will fight in seven days’ time!” Wu Mingliang madly laughed.
A lowly third-stage Basic Realm cultivator wanted to challenge a lofty ninth-stage Basic Realm cultivator? This was, without doubt, asking to die!
“In seven days, I will make you thoroughly regret your mistake of ever wanting to bully this young master!” After shooting one more confident glance at Wu Mingliang, Xiang Shaoyun turned around and headed for the Hall of Limits.
Was entering the first room of the Hall of Limits supposed to be a punishment? To Xiang Shaoyun, this was nothing more than another training session!